Art and Science of Laboratory Medicine

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Without Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs), the health care system would come to a halt with a devastating impact on Saskatchewan residents. Emergency departments would close and surgeries and cancer treatments would abruptly stop. MLTs look for indications of disease processes. The patient test results generated by MLTs are crucial in directly influencing as high as 85 per cent of the diagnostic and treatment decisions made by health care professionals.

"Clinical Microbiology (the study of micro-organisms) is only one of the nine major disciplines in which MLTs provide test results regarding diseases affecting individuals. The human body has bacteria in it all the time to help with normal bodily functions. However, infections are caused by abnormal bacteria or viruses. MLTs test for and detect those abnormal bacteria," said Del Windrum, Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Society of Medical Laboratory (SSMLT). The organization is responsible for licensing MLTs.